NEOM McLaren Formula E Team rookie Jake Hughes feels “very prepared” for his first season in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, despite admitting that there is “almost no preparation” for the all-electric series.
Hughes looks set to be a serious driver to watch in Season Nine, with the Brit having performed remarkably well during pre-season testing a couple of weeks ago at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia. The former Formula 2 driver was a regular name towards the top of the timesheets, and was one of the few drivers able to produce times capable of challenging the DS Automobile-powered Gen3 cars.
Hughes’ seat at McLaren for 2023 is his real big break in motorsport, having been the reserve driver of the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team for the last two seasons. The twenty-eight year old has delivered some strong results over recent years in Formula 2 and Formula 3, with his best result in 2022 having been fourth at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit during the F2 feature race in Saudi Arabia.
Some might consider him as an underdog in Formula E, given that he’s never been a title challenger in F2 or F3; however, if he can take his pre-season pace into the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix, then he could be set for a strong start to his new “adventure”.
Hughes has really enjoyed getting to grips with the Gen3 car whilst trying to learn everything there is about the all-electric championship, he is aware, though, that Season Nine will be a “learning process”.
“As race drivers, we typically come up through the levels from karting to Formula racing and at this level, the cars tend to be quite similar,” Hughes told fiaformulae.com.
“Then you arrive in Formula E and there’s almost no preparation for it – there’s nothing to prepare you for it and you have to learn on the job, basically. Fortunately for me, I’ve had two years as a reserve driver with this very team (as Mercedes-EQ) so I feel very prepared for it. Nevertheless, it’s always going to be a learning process and a bit of an adventure – trying to learn a Formula E car and the new Gen3 package – I honestly really enjoy it.
“With the new tyre this year, the car’s very alive on track and it’s always moving underneath you. It feels like you really have to drive it and I’m enjoying it so far!”
Remarkably, Hughes actually won a mock-race during pre-season testing, highlighting just how quickly he’s gotten to grips with McLaren, the championship’s newest team, and their first Gen3 challenger
Nothing will really be able to prepare him, though, for what the race will be like in Mexico City, with the British driver having no experience of driving a Formula E car actually on a street circuit. With this in mind, he knows that the upcoming season will “be a challenge”, with the series being “one of the strongest championships in the world”.
“I think a lot of people, including myself, would say that it’s one of the strongest championships in the world – if not the strongest,” he added.
“We have 22 cars on the grid and 22 drivers with the quality to win a race. You’ll see that the racing is very close and the cars can also follow each other very, very closely.
“The teams are very good at learning how to maximise the package they have and it’s all in the detail. So for me being a rookie, it’s obviously going to be a challenge. I have a really good team behind me though, so I’m confident the adventure will be a positive one.”
